Home inspection pros gain local association

Alan O’Rear, president of A Closer Look Inc., a home inspection company he founded three years ago, will serve as president of the local chapter of the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors.

The chapter will hold its inaugural dinner meeting at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 4 at University Plaza Hotel, with 13 hours of continuing education offered 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Nov. 5. O’Rear expects meetings to be held quarterly, along with educational opportunities as the need arises.

O’Rear is the only employee of his company, which uses three to four independent contractors as home inspectors, all of whom are NACHI-certified.

O’Rear said there are already 25 members of NACHI locally, and his goal is for the chapter to have 60 members. The chapter’s mission is to provide a more cohesive forum to address pertinent issues regarding the home inspection industry in this area, O’Rear said.

“NACHI, as an organization, is interested in local chapters because the organization believes very strongly that the power and the knowledge and the professionalism of the industry emanates from its membership and from the people that do the work, instead of thinking that they are the ones that control or police from an outside perspective,” O’Rear said.

Part of the organization’s responsibility, he said, is to educate consumers about the relationship with home inspectors, why home inspections are conducted, and how to select a home inspector.

“From a professional standpoint, the home inspector standpoint, we believe it will provide a forum for the development of professional skills,” O’Rear said. “If we can provide a higher base of training and professional skills, as well as consistency of how you do a home inspection to the profession, then the consumers benefit because the service is more consistent, it’s a higher level of service, and people are more satisfied with it.”

O’Rear said he toyed with the idea of starting a local NACHI chapter for a couple of years. “Missouri already has two chapters – St. Louis and Kansas City. (But) it’s hard for inspectors to travel that far and take advantage of some of the (continuing education) programs.”

Bringing continuing education opportunities to the Springfield area benefits the home inspector and the homebuyer, he said.

“The consumers win on that deal,” O’Rear said. “The more educated the professional is, the more skilled they are, the more consistent they are in processes, the better the outcomes are going to be.”

Missouri is one of several states that does not have laws regulating home inspections. Dale Mangrum, who owns Amerispec and leads the Greater Ozark Chapter of the American Society of Home Inspectors, is in favor of any efforts to regulate the home inspection industry.

Mangrum said he receives calls each week from individuals interested in starting their own business.

“A lot of them say, ‘I thought I could buy a ladder and a flashlight and start.’ A lot of them do that,” he said.

Richard Virnig, who has taught home inspection courses at Ozarks Technical Community College for five years, believes there is room in the area for another association. “I think that competition is good for business, no matter what kind of business we’re in. I welcome that entrance into the market,” he said.

OTC’s courses were approved by ASHI for 29 membership renewal credits.

Virnig teaches two sections each semester: a weeklong day class with an average of 15 students and a 12-week long evening class with an average of 10 students per semester.

Students seem willing to travel for the classes. Virnig said he’s had students from Kansas, Arkansas and Alabama, in addition to students from the area.

Virnig said Missouri is among the last states to hold out against legislating home inspections.

“But our state’s been one of the last holdouts in legislating anything. I personally would welcome the day, and I’m looking forward to the day, when we do have a state law because it’s high time,” Virnig said, adding that regulation would standardize the quality of home inspectors.

“I feel that because we don’t have any regulation, there are no barriers to entry. The very first class, the very first hour, the very first thing I tell everybody is that if you have a printer and you can print out a business card, you are now a home inspector,” Virnig said.

Without regulation in Missouri, it’s up to the consumer to protect himself, Virnig added, noting that word-of-mouth information and checking for references are important.

“It’s just like shopping for a contractor,” he said.

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